When we go off to college, typically it’s in our hometown. Our hometown is safe, we know it well, and our families are just 30-60 minutes away. We DO have new experiences, and we travel, meet new people, and have a generally great time.
What is it about our hometown that keeps us there?
It’s where we grew up.
If you were lucky enough to have grown up in a place it’s your hometown. We had our first kiss there, our first boyfriend or girlfriend there. We learned how to ride our bike down on Oakes Street, we went cosmic bowling on Proctor. We got our first license there, we had our first sexual experiences there. Hometowns are loaded with good memories, lessons learned, and people we loved.
It’s a safe place.
Feeling not only emotionally secure, but financially secure is important to us. We understand how the financial market works in our hometown. We know exactly what to expect in terms of salary, rental prices, taxes, and just how much we’ll need to save for a home. We dream of the exact spot we’ll ask someone to marry us and where we’re going to have our wedding. Our minds are at ease in our hometown.
Everyone is still there.
Our best friend from kindergarten is still there, our kids will grow up together, and so will we. Our grandparents, cousins, parents, brothers and sisters, they’re still there. Whether someone wants to admit it or not, we all want to have a giant happy complicated family like Parenthood. Staying in our hometown gives us that built in support system that will never go away, except for those who go out-of-state.
But what about those who move away for college?
Good things happen in new cities. Many people have moved on and out after High School, even without college. They’re looking for an adventure. Fresh experiences away from High School memories that may have tortured them. It’s also possible that their hearts were broken or they have big dreams that only a new city with new opportunities can fulfill sent for them.
Regardless, those who move away from their hometown will always long for the memories their place of beginning holds. When we come home for the holidays or summer vacation we will visit that tavern on the water where we had our first drink. We will take a day cruising down memory lane with out out-of-town boyfriend or girlfriend, or maybe with our new little family.
Showing our loved ones where we grew up is essential in helping them understand who we are as people. Where our heart were lifted and where they were broken. We love where we came from and having that common bond is essential to compatibility with friends and potential partners. Keeping in mind that we all come from somewhere that’s not here is super important.
We long for our hometowns regardless of where we live and it’s not our hometowns that we are wanting – it’s the memories. Something I like to keep in mind when thinking about where I call home now is “Home is Wherever You Are With Me.” You can make memories and love wherever you go – Hometown or not.
Here’s to my friends in my Hometown, Gig Harbor, and to my friends in my new home Mesa. Where my next home will be, I’m not so sure, but I know it’s wherever I make it.
